


complex history

by sleeponrooftops



Series: raising webhead: a parenting guide, attempted by the science boyfriends [25]
Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-21
Updated: 2013-06-21
Packaged: 2017-12-15 16:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/851504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleeponrooftops/pseuds/sleeponrooftops
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter comes home with an interesting project—family history.</p>
            </blockquote>





	complex history

**Author's Note:**

> Notes —
> 
> i. A small discrepancies note. I know Flash and Peter don’t have the greatest relationship in the beginning, but I really love how they’ve been developing them in TASM, especially at the end—that’s just glorious—so I’m going to skip over all the ick and get straight to them being friends.

_One month later._

_October, 2014_

Tony smiles as Peter runs over to him, smiling widely.  They’ve mostly gotten past the carrying him everywhere phase, and so Peter walks alongside Tony, holding his hand, as they head away from the school and toward the car.  “Where’s daddy?” he asks as they’re walking.

 

“Daddy had to stay home,” Tony says, frowning, thinking back on Bruce waking up that morning, out of breath and shaking, his eyes so vibrantly green that he’d barely managed to wake Tony before he was running for the elevator.  He’d been in the basement ever since, meditating and going through hours of yoga and breathing exercises.  His only explanation was that he’d had a triggering nightmare and woken up feeling like Hulk was trying to tear out of him, and he’d still not felt in control enough to pick up Peter from school  “Remember this morning when I told you Hulk was making daddy feel a little icky?”

 

“Yeah, does he still feel icky?”

 

“He does,” Tony pauses to get Peter into his new booster seat, and then he continues when they’re on the road, “How was your day?”

 

“Mrs. Johnson gave us a project to do!” he exclaims, looking at Tony through the rear view mirror, “I’m supposed to find out about my family history, and she said that I should maybe research my real parents, but I told her that you and daddy were my real parents because you didn’t leaved me and you love me lots, so she said it was okay if I did you and daddy.”

 

“Our family history?” Tony repeats, glancing back at him.

 

“Yeah.  We have to pass it in on Friday, and she showed us how to make family trees, so we can make one.  Wait—does that mean you have a daddy?”

 

“Had,” Tony says, “My father died when I was younger, and my mother.”

 

“That’s really sad,” Peter says, frowning, “What about daddy’s parents?”

 

“His mother is dead, but I believe his father is still alive.”

 

“Do you know him?”

 

“I’ve never met him, but I know who he is.”

 

“That’s weird.”

 

“Yeah, I guess.  Are you sure you don’t want to learn about _your_ parents, Peter?”

 

“But you and daddy _are_ my parents,” Peter says, not looking at Tony.

 

“I mean your real parents.”

  
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Peter yells suddenly, crossing his arms and fighting back tears, “Everyone in school keeps telling me that you and daddy aren’t my real daddies and that I’m an _orphan_.  I don’t like that word.”

 

“Peter,” Tony begins, frowning.

 

“It’s not fair!” Peter cuts him off, kicking his feet against the seat, “I live with you and daddy, and I call you my daddies, and I love you, and shouldn’t that be enough?  You _are_ my real parents, and I don’t like it when the kids at school say you aren’t.  _And_ they say you aren’t really Iron Man and Hulk!  They say I’m fibbing, but I’m not!”

 

“Peter,” Tony says as they pull into the Tower’s garage, but Peter just keeps going.

 

“I don’t even _like_ the kids in my class!” he shouts, “They make fun of me and call me weird cos I have powers and they don’t, and they never believe me that my dads are superheroes!  I just want to be in class with Johnny and Wade, but they’re _older_ than me, and they’re never around to prove that I’m not fibbing!”

 

Tony sighs, getting out of the car and going around to open Peter’s door.  The second he’s got his belt undone, though, Peter slides from his seat, slips around Tony, and stomps off toward the elevator, leaving his backpack in the car.  Tony watches him go for a moment before getting his backpack and following him.  “If you don’t want to go to that school, you don’t have to,” Tony says when he reaches Peter at the elevator, “We can transfer you to Xavier’s, and then no one will make fun of you for your powers or not believe you about daddy and me.”

 

“I want to stay _there_ ,” Peter says, pouting, “I like it there.  I like learning, and I like my teacher, I just don’t like the other kids.  Except Flash, he’s really nice, and he believes me.”

 

“Who’s Flash?” Tony asks as they get into the elevator.

 

“His real name is Eugene Thompson, but he said he likes to be called Flash.  I don’t know why, but it’s a cool name, so I call him Flash.  He has this friend, Gwen, too, that’s in a different kindergarten class, and she’s pretty nice.  I met her on the playground one day because Johnny was out sick, so I was playing with Flash instead, and Wade doesn’t get to go on our playground because he’s a big kid.”

 

“Peter, Wade doesn’t go to your school.  You know that, right?”

 

“He doesn’t?” Peter asks in shock, “But he said he went to school.”

 

“Yeah, at Xavier’s.”

 

“Oh,” Peter says, deflating a little as they get out onto the lab’s floor, “Well anyway, I told Flash he could come hang out at the Tower some time, if that’s okay.”

 

“Yeah, of course.  As long as you trust him, so do daddy and me.  Now, let’s see about this project.”

 

He and Peter get to work, and it’s just past dinnertime when Bruce comes into the lab with a takeaway bag under one arm.  “Hey,” Tony says, standing up.  Peter looks up from his work station but doesn’t move, instead watching Tony walk over to Bruce and greet him with a small kiss.  “Feeling better?”

 

“I’m sorry,” Bruce murmurs, not meeting Tony’s gaze, “I don’t know what was going on.”

 

“It’s fine,” Tony says, taking the bag from him, “As long as you’re okay, I don’t care.  Oh _yes_ ,” he adds when he smells the bag, “Peter, your favorite.”

 

“Indian?” he exclaims, already sliding off his chair and running over.  They eat at the table Bruce snuck into the lab because they’re so often up here during dinnertime, and they’re just settling in when Peter starts telling Bruce about his project and how Tony’s been helping him.  “It’s _really_ awesome.  Can we show him after dinner?” he asks Tony, who nods.

 

“Yeah, of course.  Tell daddy about your new friend.”

 

“Oh yeah!” Peter says before he launches into an explanation about Flash and Gwen, and Tony watches him fondly, smiling.

 

When dinner is finally done, Peter runs over to his corner and brings back a large poster board, which has a family tree spread out over it, pictures glued on and his scratchy little writing underneath each one.  “Did you do this all by yourself?” Bruce asks, looking at it.

 

“Well, dad found the pictures and printed them out for me, and he helped me with some of the names, but I glued them all on and wrote most of it myself, and I asked _all_ the questions.”

 

“You really didn’t help him?” Bruce asks, looking over at Tony, smiling when he shakes his head, “I’m surprised, I thought you’d try to take over.”

 

“Nah, I’m saving that for his first science fair.”

 

“Look, daddy, I even put the menagerie on here,” Peter says, pointing.

 

“That’s great, Peter,” Bruce says, lifting a hand for a high five, “When is this due?”

 

“On Friday!”

 

“It’s Tuesday,” he says, looking at Tony and then back at Peter, “Did you do the rest of your homework?”

  
“Oops,” Peter and Tony say at the same time, and Bruce just sighs and kisses Tony before herding Peter back over to his station.


End file.
